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Etymotic ER-4P Portable In-Ear Earphones

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size eartips (they come a default size attached and three other sizes), they slide into your ear deeply and comfortably (with a little moisture). These truly are "noise canceling" - you can barely discern any outside noise whatsoever. My home PC is where I listen to the bulk of my music, thru an Azuntech X-Fi 2 Forte 7.1 to go with my quad core Q9550, and that sound with these earphones just leaves me gawking. My wife comes into my den and sees me with my mouth open, wondering what the h*ll I'm listening to. Just music baby, just music!!

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Etymotic ER-4P Portable In-Ear Earphones

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meet all my needs? When I came across the ER4P I was instantly drawn in by their impressive claims although I did manage to retain enough cynicism through previous experience to carry out further research. Reviews ranged mainly from "pretty good" to "astonishing" with the odd dissenter thrown in for good measure. The major gripes seemed to be from reviewers who knew little about what they were dealing with and so gradually I became convinced to invest. They arrived in a neat, if cheap looking, plastic accessory box, complete with spare rubber and foam tips as well as a shirt clip, jack adapter, soft carry case and other items. Out of the box I noticed that the plastic moulding, where the cable enters the earphone, looked a little bit scruffy, like you'd expect from a much cheaper set. One of the reviews I'd read had mentioned this so it wasn't a complete surprise but it didn't inspire confidence about the manufacturer's exacting production standards. However, I then plugged them in and fitted the earphones snuggly and firmly, deep into my lugholes and hit play... Now, if you can imagine it were possible to jack the perfect sound source directly into you central nervous system you might be somewhere near to appreciating the sensation of wearing these earphones. Every little detail is as sharp as a razor and you can hear the most subtle nuance of fingers on guitar strings. If anything, the sound is too perfect, and small, normally imperceptible flaws are delivered directly to your audio receptors. The bass tones are as punchy and clear as the higher frequencies and there is no muddying of the sound with clarity throughout the spectrum. Having played live music for many years I thought my hearing was way past its best but these earphones have given my ears new hope. In addition, the seal on the earphones is so good that the sound attenuation massively outperforms that of over-hyped noise cancelling sets. That makes them unbeatable when flying and in the studio the noise isolation proves invaluable. And they are so snug that no amount of treadmill pounding will shake them loose, especially with the shirt clip supporting the weight of the cable. The price may seem like a major obstacle but I suspect that if you're reading this then you've already accounted for that. This kind of sound reproduction doesn't come cheap and they are worth every last penny. Etymotic Research ER-4P Portable In-Ear Earphones I've recently had cause to return the earphones to Etymotic under the warranty after I managed to snap the end off of one of the transducers whilst changing the foam tips. I'm not sure if this is a common fault or a one-off but Etymotic handled the repair perfectly and their customer service and efficiency is amongst the best I have ever experienced. It's nice, and indeed quite rare these days, to deal with a company that gets it right with both the product and the aftercare and Etymotic have certainly secured my loyalty and my voice of praise.

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Etymotic ER-4P Portable In-Ear Earphones

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as my old in-ear monitors. Microphonics: The cord dangling around will transmit annoying sound into your ears. I don't use the included shirt clip, but have adopted a solution that was incorporated in my last set of monitors. I use a rubber band around the wires to limit their length and run around behind my head. Problem solved and the wires are hidden. I'd definitely buy these again if they were lost or destroyed. The protection they afford my ears while in this band is worth it.

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Etymotic ER-4P Portable In-Ear Earphones

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as my old in-ear monitors. Microphonics: The cord dangling around will transmit annoying sound into your ears. I don't use the included shirt clip, but have adopted a solution that was incorporated in my last set of monitors. I use a rubber band around the wires to limit their length and run around behind my head. Problem solved and the wires are hidden. I'd definitely buy these again if they were lost or destroyed. The protection they afford my ears while in this band is worth it.

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Etymotic ER-4P Portable In-Ear Earphones

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bothered trying because I have an ample supply of new ones.

I bought the Etymotics because I needed some privacy at my new office job. It wasn't just that I wanted my space, I had a lot of thinking to do and needed to block out distracting noise and at times there was far too much of that. I did some research and determined that the Etymotics were a likely good choice. They were highly touted by audiophiles and had a reputation for being very effective in noisy environments. Of course, they still enjoy that reputation. I no longer have that office job and I mostly use the Etymotics in the gym, where their isolation is just as critical as at that office job.

When I read the reviews before buying my first ER4S I quickly realized that people who used them with portable devices seemed to always use headphone amps, and I assumed that I too would need one and so I bought an Airhead "Headphone Amplifier and Audio Image Processor" at the same time. However, to my amazement and delight I found that I got adequate volume from my portable devices without having to use it. I did use the amp when listening to audio files at my computer, at least sometimes, but have ever since just set aside the Airhead. I have used the ER4S phones without an amplifier with satisfactory results with a Sony WM-FX465 cassette/TV/FM/AM portable, iRiver SlimX IMP-350 portables, iRiver H120 and H140 portables and Sansa Sandisk M250 MP3/FM portables (2 different firmware/chipset models).

My hearing isn't the best, and I won't get into subtle discussions concerning performance in various frequency ranges. However, I recently acquired a set of Sennheiser CX300B earbud headphones and determined that the Etymotics sound far superior. I also don't expect that the Sennheisers are very durable. Also, they came with only one set of buds that fit my ears. The Etymotics came with several sets of both types of buds (the white plastic, which I always use and the foam). I bought extra white plastic tips, but have only had to replace a couple (they got a bit loose over time and would remain in my ear after pulling out the drivers).

It is true that the sound from brushing the cable goes right to your ears and it's a major annoyance. I rarely notice that now, having developed strategies to avoid brushing the cables. I'll take the durability over other considerations!

Lately, I use the ER4S with small Sandisk MP3 players, the M250's. There are 4 different types of M250's and 2 of mine aren't as loud as the 3rd at maximum volume and I've had problems achieving satisfactory listening levels with them at times when using the ER4S's so I anticipate getting the more efficient ER-4P for my 3rd set of Etymotics at some point. I've been reading reviews and considered getting another brand, but I think I'd probably regret that and plan to stick with Etymotic. Fortunately, the price has come down from the $269 + shipping I paid for my last set!